It has become of great importance in a number of chemical process industries to produce, package, ship and use ultrahigh purity chemicals. One such industry in which the requirement for ultrapure chemicals is paramount, and where many of the chemicals are toxic, flammable, or otherwise hazardous is the semiconductor manufacturing industry.
It is now common practice to package ultrapure semiconductor reagents in quartz containers sealed with a quartz breakseal. This technique was pioneered by the J. C. Schumacher Company and apparatus of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,134,514 and 4,298,037.
Notwithstanding the strides made in the past, there remain a serious problems in the techniques and apparatus for shipping highly reactive ultrapure chemicals, and in connecting containers of such chemicals to the system in which the chemicals will be used. A feature of this invention is to provide a new and improved breakseal arrangement which includes built-in valve and which minimizes exposure of the chemical to the surrounding atmosphere and prevents contamination of the chemical during connection and use.